A survey of Ontario high school students reveals more than one-third of all licensed drivers in Grades 10 to 12 admit to having texted while driving.
That percentage increases to 46 per cent of licensed students in Grade 12.
Approximately 108,000 adolescent drivers surveyed said they have texted while driving at least once in the past year, according to the 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), a biannual study conducted for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
“We asked about texting while driving because research shows that this is a very hazardous behaviour,” said CAMH senior scientist Dr. Robert Mann. “We were surprised to find that so many young people are taking this risk.”
I’ll admit it, I’m a low grade hyper-klicker. I try as much as I can to extend the time between trips to the gas station. That means gradual acceleration and coasting toward red lights along with the basics, of course, correct tire pressure, minimal extra weight in vehicle etc.
One of the byproducts of this style of driving is that I tend to use large buffer zones in traffic so I can react to events in measured way, including avoiding people doing stupid things on the road.
Having that extra time while driving has saved my bacon more than once, that extra time and distance is invaluable in keeping me and those around me safe.
Enter texting – it splits your attention and reduces your ability to react while driving. Never a good thing, and with solid evidence detailing the deleterious effects of texting while driving, legistlation is the only option to stop this dangerous and costly behaviour.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
8 comments
July 9, 2014 at 9:48 am
john zande
I think you and I drive the same way, Arb. Slow and steady. I love driving here because every Brazilian thinks the road is a racetrack, and they have mad obsession with getting in front of anyone, regardless of what the traffic situation is. This brings me great entertainment, as the moment a person comes up on my rear I slow waaaaaaaaaaay, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down, painfully slow, and pretend to be an old man. Its worth every second to see the fury in the faces of the drivers behind :)
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July 9, 2014 at 9:55 am
The Arbourist
@JZ
I hear you. My fun comes when pulling up to the red light they’ve been sitting at for a minute and I zoom through because I didn’t have to stop and wait because I’m planning ahead. Leaving a lot of space in front makes driving better for everyone, people can change lanes with plenty of space, not cut people off, less stress. Everyone wins.
I saw numbers somewhere that driving aggressively gains gets you to your destination 30secs to a minute faster. Is that really worth all the potential danger and stress driving like a bat out of hell get you? :)
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July 9, 2014 at 10:05 am
thefemininefeministe
Just this last week, on 3 different occasions, someone started swerving into my lane from the opposite direction as me and as I honked at them, they looked up from what I presume was their cell phone. I am not sure why people think they can multitask a multi ton vehicle and a cell phone at the same time.
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July 9, 2014 at 10:39 am
john zande
I hear you.
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July 9, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Mystro
@thefemininefeministe
At least yours looked up. We were in the left lane of a highway when I encountered someone going 80 in the 110 zone. He would slowly veer into the right lane, as if to let us pass, but only get halfway over before coming back to the left lane. After he did this a few times, I thought that the driver was drunk. We went to the far right of the right lane to pass, just in case he swerved over again. He wast texting. We honked. He continued to text. We honked a few more times. His attention to his phone remained unbroken. It was unbelievable.
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July 9, 2014 at 5:03 pm
bleatmop
Texting and driving, talking on the phone while driving, doing makeup, shaving, ect, are all crazy. Lunatic like behaviour. I’m willing to bet that most of these people wouldn’t start firing a gun up in the air in the middle of the city, because they bullets coming down might kill someone, but they have no problem doing the equivalent on the roadway.
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July 9, 2014 at 5:41 pm
Marie
There’s already legislation on this in Ontario; it just needs to be enforced more vigilantly.
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July 11, 2014 at 10:53 am
The Intransigent One
There’s legislation in Alberta too, but it doesn’t seem to be stopping people.
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